
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 16, 1995                   TAG: 9510160073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TRUCK WRECKS WHILE TRYING TO AVOID COLLISION

A northbound tractor-trailer overturned Sunday on Interstate 81 about 5 miles north of Christiansburg, sending the driver to a hospital with minor injuries. The crash closed the left lane for about six hours and backed up traffic for more than five miles.

State Trooper Rolfe Grubb said a five-car wreck occurred in the backed-up traffic about an hour after the first accident, sending two people to Montgomery Regional Hospital with minor injuries.

James B. Jenkins, 46, of Hickory, N.C., was driving a tractor-trailer carrying a load of carpet when he tried to pass another truck. As he started to pass, a white car raced past him in the left lane, Grubb said.

Jenkins told police he veered to avoid the car, ran off the road, hit a guardrail and overturned in the median near mile marker 123.

Two witnesses confirmed the actions of the white vehicle, which left the scene, Grubb said. The car's license number was reported by a witness, however.

Grubb said Jenkins was wearing a seat belt. He was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital for treatment of a concussion, cuts and abrasions.

by CNB